Prom 12: National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain - 27.07.19

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

19:30 Saturday 27 July 2019
Royal Albert Hall

Lera Auerbach: Icarus (London première)
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major
Sergei Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet – suite

Nicola Benedetti violin
National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain
Mark Wigglesworth conductor

Explosive energy and enthusiasm are the hallmarks of every performance by the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, made up of the UK’s most talented musicians aged from 13 to 18. The ensemble’s annual visit to the Proms is always a festival highlight.
This year Mark Wigglesworth conducts the orchestra in a suite from Prokofiev’s passionate ballet Romeo and Juliet and they are joined by violinist Nicola Benedetti for Tchaikovsky’s warmly lyrical Violin Concerto.
The concert opens with Lera Auerbach’s bracing symphonic poem Icarus, inspired by the myth of the heroic but ill-fated son of Daedalus who flew too close to the sun.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

19:30 Saturday 27 July 2019
Royal Albert Hall

Lera Auerbach: Icarus (London première)
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major
Sergei Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet – suite

Nicola Benedetti violin
National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain
Mark Wigglesworth conductor

Explosive energy and enthusiasm are the hallmarks of every performance by the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, made up of the UK’s most talented musicians aged from 13 to 18. The ensemble’s annual visit to the Proms is always a festival highlight.
This year Mark Wigglesworth conducts the orchestra in a suite from Prokofiev’s passionate ballet Romeo and Juliet and they are joined by violinist Nicola Benedetti for Tchaikovsky’s warmly lyrical Violin Concerto.
The concert opens with Lera Auerbach’s bracing symphonic poem Icarus, inspired by the myth of the heroic but ill-fated son of Daedalus who flew too close to the sun.

So often it seem that the NYO plays the Rite of Spring, so it's good o hear them playing something else.

[edashtav]

Lera Auerbach Icarus

Hot, hot hot, full to the brim with propellent power and scored for large orchestra. Its colour, vim and vigour were ideal for our National Youth Orchestra who played as if their tails were on fire. I have to admit it was accessible and great fun. The reflective episodes had a bitter sweet lyrical quality. The work was concentrated and did not outstay its welcome.
Does the orchestra deserve something more contemporary and 21st century?

[bluestateprommer]

Lera Auerbach's Icarus just finished, and I thought that it was pretty good. Audience-friendly in idiom, but not pandering, IMHO. It almost starts in the middle of the fatal ride, rather than telling the whole tale from start to finish.

[DracoM]

Yes, Fairly light-weight, I'd say. Impressively played.
Evening not improved by Katie Derham, however.

[edashtav]

Tchaikovsky : Violin Concerto (Nicola Benedetti)
The orchestra took a while to settle and I was unsure about the microphony in the exposition. My faith in the soloist has been restored over the last couple of years after a patch when I wondered whether her wide enthusiasms were blunting her execution. She started well with confidence, a lovely line and imaginative use of rubato. The orchestra seemed to draw enthusiasm and commitment from Nicola and the performance improved throughout the first movement.
A feature of the slow movement was the delicate and neatly crafted woodwind decorations and comments on the soloist's meditation. I wondered whether the strings were too matter of fact?

The finale exploded impressively. Was its scampering a little too quick? I enjoyed the slower, slinky Russian folksong episodes a little more for they were well characterised.The whole was done with tremendous youthful energy and a nice element of humour. The final bars were over-excited. An enjoyable interpretation.

[cloughie]

Tchaikovsky : Violin Concerto (Nicola Benedetti)
The orchestra took a while to settle and I was unsure about the microphony in the exposition. My faith in the soloist has been restored over the last couple of years after a patch when I wondered whether her wide enthusiasms were blunting her execution. She started well with confidence, a lovely line and imaginative use of rubato. The orchestra seemed to draw enthusiasm and commitment from Nicola and the performance improved throughout the first movement.
A feature of the slow movement was the delicate and neatly crafted woodwind decorations and comments on the soloist's meditation. I wondered whether the strings were too matter of fact?

The finale exploded impressively. Was its scampering a little too quick? I enjoyed the slower, slinky Russian folksong episodes a little more for they were well characterised.The whole was done with tremendous youthful energy and a nice element of humour. The final bars were over-excited. An enjoyable interpretation.

Nicola is not only a great violinist but comes over as a really lovely person and the NYOGB players will be inspired by her.

[edashtav]

Lovely remarks from Nicola and her Wynton Marsalis encore was delightful.

[bluestateprommer]

Well, as the one lyric from the musical Chicago goes:

"Give 'em the old / Razzle-dazzle"

Nicola B. certainly did just now with the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. Besides one tiny moment in the finale where she almost threatened to go off the rails, extremely well played, and a lot of fun. Very warm and generous "Ninth Night" speech from NB just now, in tribute to the NYOGB. Slick move of her to promote her new album with her encore {archived now in the Forum Calendar), but that's OK :) .

PS: The R&J bespoke suite just finished. Slightly odd, hard edge to the NYOGB's sound at the start, but this is by the highest standards and not taking into account the youth of the musicians. Good that this selection went beyond the "greatest hits", and the NYOGB were on very strong form, as they always are, year after year.

The NYOGB just did their "El Sistema" bit with the rather appropriately chosen encore of the 'Mambo' from West Side Story. Thematically, of course, it makes total sense as a choice :) .

[edashtav]

Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet Suite
I was disappointed the movements selected for tonight's extended Suite were neither identified by Katie Derham in advance nor indicated on the iPlayer feed.

What a great, expansive start! The Percussion led by the timpani are having a whale of a time. The performance is edgy and dynamic but some of the swirling violin lines are a tad impressionistic.
Once again, the woodwind solos are beguiling, sensual and sensitive.

Mark Wigglesworth has ensured that the orchestra knows that it's playing characters, and I was impressed by its quick and united changes of colour, intensity, emotion and humour.

The players revelled in and relished the more dramatic moments. Some of the rather dull "Soviet" stretches including the work's conclusion caught them slightly comatose but who can blame them? Overall, job well done!

[bluestateprommer]

Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet Suite
I was disappointed the movements selected for tonight's extended Suite were neither identified by Katie Derham in advance nor indicated on the iPlayer feed.

I actually respectfully disagree. The score has 52 formally designated numbers, so to read a list on air of something like 20 number titles would have sounded tedious (especially given the vitriol that this particular presenter tends to invoke here). Plus, I liked the idea of not knowing what would come next, or what MW had in mind for his "potted" version to try to follow the narrative, so as to be surprised. The first surprise was #7, "The Duke's Command", at the very start, especially when the "Quarrel" (#5) and "Fight" (#6) numbers showed up in due course. So MW twisted expectations that way, for one, because those who know the complete ballet know that "The Duke's Command" comes next - except that here, it had already happened. There is also a fair bit of repetition of motives throughout the full 3-act work (e.g. "The Duke's Command" is recycled in #37, the Introduction to Act III), so MW clearly had to balance the narrative with not repeating too many of the big tunes too often.

What a great, expansive start! The Percussion led by the timpani are having a whale of a time. The performance is edgy and dynamic but some of the swirling violin lines are a tad impressionistic.
Once again, the woodwind solos are beguiling, sensual and sensitive.

Mark Wigglesworth has ensured that the orchestra knows that it's playing characters, and I was impressed by its quick and united changes of colour, intensity, emotion and humour.

The players revelled in and relished the more dramatic moments. Some of the rather dull "Soviet" stretches including the work's conclusion caught them slightly comatose but who can blame them? Overall, job well done!

[edashtav]

I actually respectfully disagree. The score has 52 formally designated numbers, so to read a list on air of something like 20 would have sounded tedious. Plus, I liked the idea of not knowing what would come next, or what MW had in mind for his "potted" version to try to follow the narrative, so as to be surprised. The first surprise was #7, "The Duke's Command", at the very start, especially when the "Quarrel" (#5) and "Fight" (#6) numbers showed up in due course. So MW twisted expectations that way, for one, because those who know the complete ballet know that "The Duke's Command" comes next - except that here, it had already happened. There is also a fair bit of repetition of motives throughout the full 3-act work (e.g. "The Duke's Command" is recycled in #37, the Introduction to Act III), so MW clearly had to balance the narrative with not repeating too many of the big tunes too often.

I take your point, bsp, about the unwieldy number of movements... but they would have kept Katie Derham "on message".

[pastoralguy]

I don't usually listen to the NYO concerts since I was constantly turned down by the audition committee in favour of friends who I knew weren't as accomplished as I was. However, they did go to fee paying schools whereas I went to bog roll comp...

[jonfan]

I don't usually listen to the NYO concerts since I was constantly turned down by the audition committee in favour of friends who I knew weren't as accomplished as I was. However, they did go to fee paying schools whereas I went to bog roll comp...

Sweeping statement that’s not true. My pupil was principal of her section last year and she went to a bog standard comp, as you are so obviously proud to call it; and she wasn’t the only one.

[teamsaint]

https://www.nyo.org.uk/media/W1siZiIsIjIwMTYvMTEvMjQvNm1jZTkxMnd6cV9OWU9fMjAxN19QcmVzc19SZWxlYXNlLnBkZiJdXQ/NYO%202017%20Press%20Release.pdf?sha=f4bf1aeb25c69a79

49% from Private schools in 2017.